Aer language
{{Short description|Indo-Aryan language spoken in Pakistan}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Aer
| nativename = {{lang|aeq|آیر}}
| image = File:Aer language Arabic script.svg
| speakers = 100
| date = 1998
| ref = e25
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = Indo-Iranian
| fam3 = Indo-Aryan
| fam4 = Western Indo-Aryan
| fam5 = Gujarati
| script = Arabic script
| iso3 = aeq
| glotto = aerr1238
| glottorefname = Aer
| dia1 = Jikrio Goth
| dia2 = Jamesabad
}}
Aer ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪər}} {{respell|YRE}}) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 100 people in Sindh, Pakistan and Gujarat, India. It is one of the smallest languages of Pakistan in terms of number of speakers,{{Cite web |last=Torwali |first=Zubair |date=28 July 2015 |title=Saving local languages |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/53367-saving-local-languages |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=The News International |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Arshad |first=Muhammad |date=2021-09-06 |title=How Many Languages Are Spoken In Pakistan |url=https://www.economy.pk/how-many-languages-are-spoken-in-pakistan/ |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Economy.pk |language=en-US}} and is spoken in rural areas of Sindh including Hyderabad, Kot Ghulam Muhammad, and Kunri. Some speakers are also reported to be living in Shaheed Benazirabad, but they have a different culture.{{Cite web |last=Parekh |first=Rauf |date=2018-01-02 |title=Some endangered Pakistani languages |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1380191 |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Dawn |language=en}}
History
After the Partition of India in 1947, the Muslim speakers of the language migrated to Pakistan, while the Hindu speakers stayed in India. Most of the Aer speakers in Pakistan live in Deh 333,{{Cite journal |last=Rahman |first=Tariq |date=January 2004 |title=Language Policy and Localization in Pakistan: Proposal for a Paradigmatic Shif |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2937498_Language_Policy_and_Localization_in_Pakistan_Proposal_for_a_Paradigmatic_Shift |website=ResearchGate }} near Hyderabad in lower Sindh. The language was formed in the Indian subcontinent during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire due to the influence of Persian, Arabic, and Turkish on Indian languages.{{Cite web |last=Bukhari |first=Syed Muhammad Azeem Shah |date=7 April 2019 |title=معدوم ہوتی پاکستانی زبانیں |trans-title=Endangered Pakistani languages |url=https://www.express.pk/story/1620848/1/ |access-date=31 August 2022 |website=Express News}}
A 1998 estimate concluded there were around 200 native speakers.{{Cite web |title=Did you know Aer is endangered? |url=https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3596 |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Endangered Languages |language=en}} Current estimates, however, put the number of speakers at 150, further cementing its 'endangered' status.{{Cite web |last=Parekh |first=Rauf |date=2017-03-13 |title=Literary notes: How many languages are spoken in Pakistan? |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1320097 |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Dawn |language=en}}
Classification
Aer has been classified as one of the Gujarati languages. Ethnologue reports that the closest language is Kachi Koli and especially its dialects Katai Meghwar and Kachi Bhil, and that most Aer speakers are bilingual in Sindhi. Two varieties of Aer are Jikrio Goth Aer and Jamesabad Aer.
Alphabet
Aer is commonly not written, but when it is, it is written in a variety of the Arabic script.{{Cite web |title=ScriptSource - Entry - Aer language keyboard |url=https://www.scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=entry_detail&uid=dy2kh5uv3e |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=www.scriptsource.org}}
| class="wikitable"
|+Aer Perso-Arabic alphabet ! Letter !! Name of Letter !! Transcription !! IPA | |||
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ا}}}} | alif | a | {{IPA|/a/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ب}}}} | be | b | {{IPA|/b/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|پ}}}} | pe | p | {{IPA|/p/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ت}}}} | te | t | {{IPA|/t/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ٹ}}}} | ṭe | ṭ | {{IPA|/ʈ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ث}}}} | se | (s) | {{IPA|/s/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ج}}}} | jīm | j | {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|چ}}}} | če | č | {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ح}}}} | he | (h) | {{IPA|/h/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|خ}}}} | khe | kh | {{IPA|/kʱ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|د}}}} | dāl | d | {{IPA|/d/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ڈ}}}} | ḍāl | ḍ | {{IPA|/ɖ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ۮ}}}} | ɗāl | ɗ | {{IPA|/ɗ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ذ}}}} | zāl | (z) | {{IPA|/z/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ر}}}} | re | r | {{IPA|/r/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ڑ}}}} | ṛe | ṛ | {{IPA|/ɽ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ۯ}}}} | ɭe | ɭ | {{IPA|/ɭ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ز}}}} | ze | z | {{IPA|/z/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ژ}}}} | je | j | {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|س}}}} | sīn | s | {{IPA|/s/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ش}}}} | šīn | š | {{IPA|/ʃ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ص}}}} | swād | (s) | {{IPA|/s/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ض}}}} | zwād | (z) | {{IPA|/z/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ط}}}} | to'e | (t) | {{IPA|/t/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ظ}}}} | zo'e | (z) | {{IPA|/z/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ع}}}} | ‘ayn | ʿ | {{IPA|/ʔ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|غ}}}} | ghayn | gh | {{IPA|/gʱ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ف}}}} | fe | f | {{IPA|/f/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ق}}}} | kāf | k | {{IPA|/k/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ک}}}} | kāf | k | {{IPA|/k/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|گ}}}} | gāf | g | {{IPA|/g/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ل}}}} | lām | l | {{IPA|/l/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|م}}}} | mīm | m | {{IPA|/m/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ن}}}} | nūn | n | {{IPA|/n/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ݨ}}}} | ṇūn | ṇ | {{IPA|/ɳ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ں}}}} | ˜ | ˜ | {{IPA|/˜/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|و}}}} | waw | w | {{IPA|/w/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ہ}}}} | he | h | {{IPA|/h/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ھ}}}} | _he | _h | {{IPA|/ʰ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ۿ}}}} | ɦ | ɦ | {{IPA|/ɦ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ء}}}} | hamza | ʿ | {{IPA|/ʔ/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ی}}}} | ye | y | {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/i/}} |
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|aeq|{{nq|ے}}}} | ye | e, ē | {{IPA|/ɛ/}} |
References
{{Languages of Pakistan}}
{{Indo-Aryan languages}}